Life's A Game Of Chance
by Greg'sgirl5
Summary: Sequel to 'Fingerprints'. Greg and Riley realize something they should have a long time ago. But after everything thats just happened, can it actually work?
1. Waking Up In Vegas

_Disclaimer: I don't own CSI, obviously._

**Life's A Game Of Chance.**

Waking Up In Vegas.

Riley's eyes fluttered open to the dark Vegas sky outside the window.

She chose not to move, just think about the situation. The last few days rushed into her mind, the kidnapping, the rescue, the assault...and then last night. She'd never broken down like that before. Ever.

Greg's hand stroked his hand over her hair with soft movements. His chest rose and fell under her head and she realized that his arm was still wrapped around her. Just like when she had cried all last night.

It was good having him as a friend. And he was the person she trusted the most. Last night proved that. For the first time in her life, she'd actually showed her true emotions to someone. Having to shrinks for parents really made you an interpersonal human being. And Riley had never talked to anyone about her real emotions.

Gently, she moved her head to look up at him. His warm brown eyes lit up as he smiled.

"Hey." He said in his honey-sweet voice, one that she'd never forget.

"Hi." She said softly, resting her chin on his skin. She kept eye contact, not wanting to change anything. It was nice, waking up with your best friend, one you hadn't seen in years.

"You feeling a bit better?" He asked, his hand still on her hair.

She sighed, the emotion thick in her throat. "Yeah... Thank you. For being there for me." She thanked him genuinely.

He smirked at her, but the look in his eyes told her he was being serious.

"Riles, you know I'll always be here. I'm your best friend, its kinda my job."

She chuckled lightly at his comment. He _was _her best friend.

"True..." Riley started, before adding on. "And how many times have I told you not to call me Riles?"

He smiled at her, and she could see him laughing inside his head.

"Countless."

XXX

Sara ran her fingers over the wooden picnic table, smiling at some comment Greg made. She wasn't really paying attention. Ever since last night's drinking binge, she'd found it hard to think at all.

Riley sat across from her, staring at the table. She'd barely spoken in the hour they'd been here. Sara felt bad for her, she really did. Look at what she'd just been through. And now everything was just supposed to go back to normal? Not gonna happen.

After Sara had been kidnapped, it had taken her weeks to become somewhat normal. And even then, she just couldn't do much. Every night she had nightmares, every day, she faced her irrational fears. That's why she had left, she needed to escape from the crime, the stress and most of all, her life. And somehow, even after all the time that had passed, she'd never be normal again. Ever.

So yes, She feared for Riley. The former CSI had been through more than she herself had, and she didn't have a Grissom to save her from it.

Greg finished talking, letting them ease into a comfortable silence. Sara could see what he was doing. He was trying to make everything easier for everyone else, not himself. He did that often, and sometimes she wished that just for once, he would think of himself.

The second they had got here, he'd made sure to do everything, letting Riley and Sara sit. Riley had a good reason. But Sara... not really. But Greg knew her well enough to know within seconds that she'd gone on one of her more and more frequent drinking binges. He'd given her a disappointed glare and muttered, "I told you you need to stop that Sara." Honestly, he'd reminded her of her husband.

"You look tired Riley. Maybe we should go..." Greg said, breaking Sara out of her thoughts.

Riley glanced up at him, smiling tightly.

"Wait..." Sara began, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Where are you staying?"

Riley looked at her, speaking for the first time. "Uhh... Well, I took a leave of absence from work... Not ready to go back yet." She muttered, and Sara found herself leaning forwards, wishing the woman in front of her wasn't in so much obvious pain.

"I mean, I'm back here, with my friends and I've got a hotel room so..." She stuttered, shrugging her shoulders. "Might as well stay."

Sara moved her gaze to Greg as he looked at Riley ludicrously.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your staying at my place." He told her softly, putting a hand on her arm.

Riley looked at him, the look on her face mirroring his.

"No way. I'm not just barging in and," She said, but was cut off by him.

"And I'm not having you live in a hotel room alone. End of story." Greg said reassuringly. Actually, Sara had never seen him so reassuring in his life.

And somehow, Sara felt better about Riley. Maybe she had her own little Grissom after all.

XXX

Greg carried the last of Riley's shopping bags into his apartment, laughing as he saw her perched on his counter, an apple in her hand.

"An apple a day?" He asked her, jumping up to sit beside her.

She smirked at him, and he felt a sudden warmth.

"Keeps the doctor away." Riley told him, tossing it up and down.

"What if the doctors cute?" Greg asked sarcastically.

She winked at him. "Screw the fruit."

The warmth inside of his stomach grew, consuming him.

Out of instinct, he threw his arm over her shoulder casually, but he held her a little tighter than he probably should.

She smiled up at him.

"I could get used to this. You take me shopping, carry my bags and make me move into your place?" She asked him, poking his chest.

He chuckled, as she leaned her head against his chest.

"Your forgetting my mad cooking skills." Greg joked, looking in her eyes.

"Oh, how could I possibly forget?"

And what happened after Riley spoke, was pure reflex.

He leaned forwards, watching as she did the same.

And then the phone rang. He sighed and jumped to get it, wondering what the hell he had just tried to do. Riley was his best friend. Just his best friend. Wasn't she?

**So... you like it? I thought they'd be cute together, so they will probably realize it soon. :) Revieww,, this is the sequel to "Fingerprints" so if you haven't read that... DO IT NOW!**


	2. One Plus One

_Disclaimer: I don't own CSI okay? Seriously._

**Life's A Game Of Chance**

One Plus One

Riley slumped onto Greg's couch as he walked away with the phone.

What had she tried to do? Was she an idiot? Greg was her best friend, nothing more. It must be the nerves. She Hadn't felt right since she got rescued. Yeah. That's it. Nerves.

She listened as Greg's voice echoed through the apartment, its sound muffled by the walls between them.

It sounded something like "Okay, I'll tell her.", but she couldn't be sure.

She heard a few more muffled answers until he was silent for a few moments.

Then Riley heard him answer. This time she leaned her ear closer in the direction of his voice, and she heard him loud and clear.

"Really? An opening? Well...I'll...Yes...Yes I will. Thanks...Bye."

Riley heard the cellphone snap shut and she wondered what was going on. An opening? Like, a job opening? Was he switching jobs?

Even though she wasn't a part of the CSI team anymore, she couldn't imagine it without Greg. He was the funny one, the one who always had a smile on his face. And without him...The team wouldn't function. That she was sure of. He couldn't just leave.

Greg padded back into the room, a slight awkwardness about him. Riley sat up, pretending she hadn't been listening.

"Hey. Just Ecklie. He wishes you a quick recovery." He muttered, amused by the thought of something.

Riley snorted. "B.S." Greg laughed, a sweet smile forming on his face.

"Gotta make himself look good right?" He joked with her, sliding over the back of the couch to sit beside her.

She nodded and smiled. They became silent, the only noise was the occasional noise from the outside hallway.

All of a sudden Greg moved to sit closer to her, and she was grateful for it. If he hadn't done that, it was a matter of time before she did. He was like a magnet, what could she say?

"I'll get you some blankets and pillows when we get back. I don't want you sleeping on the empty couch." He told her. She couldn't help but smile at his caring personality.

"Thanks." She said, but paused in realization. "Wait, after we get back from where?"

"Ahh." He said in a mysterious voice. "That's the surprise."

XXX

Catherine pulled the magnifying glass away from her eye, switching the evidence bag for the second one. The blood smears looked almost identical.

She was working a tough case, all to herself with no help from anyone. All of a sudden two unsolved murders had been linked together. The tough part? It was only by a blood smear and the cases were five years apart, one in the center of the city, the other in the desert.

And she was just supposed to solve it? Without any help? It was times like this she missed having Grissom in charge and not herself. For one, he wouldn't have made her do it by herself, and second, everyone listened to him. Her? Not so much. Not to say she didn't love her CSI family, she did, more than you could imagine. But sometimes they drove her crazy.

Like right now for example. Sara was busy with Ray on a case, Nick was driving to his next one and Greg? Well he wasn't answering his phone. At all. She had heard from Sara that he was making Riley stay at his place. She didn't know what to say to that. Good for him for being a good friend? Or not so good for ignoring work and focusing on his friend. But she wasn't just his friend. She was all of theirs.

A throat clearing made her jump. She turned around and saw Ecklie standing in the doorway.

"How's the case coming?" Yepp, always the impatient, lazy ass Ecklie. Some things never change.

"Slow. We only have the blood smears. And it's just me." She replied shortly, wishing him away silently.

His expression turned annoyed. He really valued his reputation.

"What about Sanders? I called him hours ago. Why isn't he back yet?" Ecklie grumbled on. She stared him down.

What was she supposed to say? The truth? That he wasn't picking up his phone, he was ignoring the job and probably sitting around the house with Riley? Lie? And risk getting suspended and written up? This was his fault, not hers. She'd done nothing wrong. But really, neither had he. She supposed he was doing it for good reasons. Maybe Riley had broke down or something. In that case she prided herself on her youngest CSI. But what if he was being lazy? The doubt was still there.

"He's here. On his way to help Nick with a double homicide." She said, lying straight to his face.

She could get fired for this. But it was Greg. She loved the dorky, laughable member of her family. And she'd lie to her boss for him, just like he would do to her.

"Okay. I'll see who can help you. The department could be looked at badly if you don't solve this." Her annoying boss responded, walking briskly out of the room.

Nope. Some things never change.

XXX

Greg walked on the cobble stoned pathway from the restaurant with Riley by his side. The Vegas sky was clear, the stars shining through. It wasn't too busy, after all it was 2 am. And honestly, it was perfect.

They listened to their footsteps, satisfied after the memorable dinner they'd just had. Wine and pasta under the Las Vegas imitation of the Eiffel Tower. They had laughed the whole way through, telling stories of college and family misadventures.

Now they made their way to the water show at the fountains, a colourful glow shining off the bouncing liquid.

"I missed you." Riley said all of a sudden, making him smile. His thoughts were identical.

"I missed you too. I didn't get to say goodbye." He said, but regretted it when he saw her eyes fill with sadness.

She paused for a moment. "Look, I...I'm-"

"Never mind. Lets just ignore that that just happened kay? Its fine." Greg interrupted, the guilt spilling over.

She managed a frail smile, but he didn't think she actually believed him. She should have, he meant it.

Once they started walking again, he even surprised himself. As if it was nothing, he reached out and grabbed her delicate hand.

She hesitated in shock, but soon wrapped her fingers around his and gave him a small smile.

Both walked in unison, swinging their hands to the beat of the far off music, echoing from a distant club.

Greg sat on the stone wall around the dancing water, patting the spot beside him. Riley smirked and took a seat.

And for a few seconds everything was perfect.

But before he knew it, he was being pushed into the water, it splashing over his face. It took him a few seconds to realize Riley had shoved him. Ohhh she was going to get it.

He struggled to stand up, almost slipping on the coins coating the tiled floor.

He stepped towards his best friend, a look of amusement covering her face.

"Oh no you didn't." He said teasingly, snapping his finger.

She laughed, smiling her signature Riley Adams smile. Radiant. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Hmmm..." He said, a mock look of confusion on his face. "Maybe," He said, stepping so he stood beside her. "You'll have to join me."

And with that, he grabbed her arm, pulling her into the water with him.

Her gasp of shock was cut short as she was engulfed in the cold water.

They both resurfaced, laughing. Her makeup was smudged, and her hair tangly,but she looked as beautiful as ever. Maybe that's what made him do it.

He pushed towards her, leaning in quickly, and his lips finally met hers. She responded, and he hada sensation that he hadn't experienced since Jr. High school. Butterflies.

He pulled back, his expression the same as hers. Riley stared in shock, her eyes seemingly studying his face.

It didn't last long, because she pulled his face towards hers again, a passionate kiss consuming them.

And so they kissed, the freezing cold water spraying around them forgotten, along with the rest of the world.

**Omg. I love them. Review. :)**


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